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Brewery’s latest release set to benefit independent journalism

Vermont Business Magazine Brave Little State, VPR's nationally recognized narrative journalism podcast, is getting its very own brew, thanks to a new collaboration with Lawson’s Finest Liquids. Brewed with barley, wheat and hops sourced from the Green Mountain State, sales of Brave Little State Pale Ale will benefit public media and independent journalism throughout the region. The beer will be available year-round at Lawson’s Finest retailers and on-tap only in the state of Vermont.

As part of Lawson’s Finest’s Social Impact Program (SIP), specifically the Good Brews for a Cause initiative, a portion of all proceeds from sales of Brave Little State will be donated to furthering VPR’s mission, including Brave Little State. The beer’s namesake is a bi-monthly podcast focused on listener-driven stories that answer questions from the public, voted on by the audience.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health on Friday reported that the Omicron coronavirus variant has likely been found in a sample of Burlington wastewater. The sample needs to be confirmed, but health officials said it was only a matter of time before the fast-moving, but perhaps less dangerous mutation arrived in Vermont. Every surrounding state and Quebec has confirmed Omicron COVID-19 cases. Vermont is also close to the pace set last December, which had the highest number of COVID deaths.

Vermont Business Magazine A lag in the personal income tax was more than offset by a strong showing with the corporate and rooms and the tourism-related meals taxes for the month of November. General, Transportation, and Education Fund revenues were slightly above target for the second month of the second quarter. Cumulative revenues remain above target for the year-to-date. The State’s General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Education Fund receipts in November were a combined $188.3 million, or 3.2% above monthly consensus expectations. Cumulative revenues remain 3.0% above consensus revenue expectations for the first 5 months of the state’s fiscal year.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites across the nation including Commerce Street Plume in Williston, Vt. and Ely Copper Mine in Vershire. Until this historic investment, these sites were part of a backlog of hazardous waste sites awaiting funding. Thousands of contaminated sites exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. These sites include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the Vermont Department of Labor reported that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for November was 2.6 percent. This reflects a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. The decrease was the result of a reduction in the number of workers unemployed. Meanwhile, the labor force fell slightly but the number of total employed increased. All these data points were small but statistically significant. Vermont was tied for fourth lowest in the nation. Nebraska had the lowest rate at 1.8 percent. California had the highest rate at 6.9 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Today the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) submitted a report examining Vermont’s various worker relocation incentive programs to the Legislature in accordance with Act 51 of 2021. The consultant estimates that every tax dollar spent on 2018 program resulted in $93.88 in economic activity and every tax dollar spent on the 2019 program resulted in $66.26 in economic activity. The 2021 program was not included in the analysis due to its recent implementation. The report also provides several recommendations to improve the programs and the consultant also highlighted Vermont’s need to tackle affordable housing, childcare availability, and access to high-speed internet to attract new workers to our state.

Vermont Business Magazine Statement from Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan today issued the following statement on a judge’s decision to reject the Purdue bankruptcy plan. “I am pleased with the Court’s ruling rejecting the Purdue bankruptcy plan which would have dismissed Vermont’s legal claims against the Sackler family. This ruling gives Vermont the ability to continue to pursue those that helped create the opioid crisis.”

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University has named Dr. Karen Gaines, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) who also holds an academic appointment as professor of physiology, as provost and dean of the faculty, beginning at the end of the spring 2022 semester. Gaines’ doctorate is in environmental toxicology from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. Her work in radiation epidemiology, exposure, risk assessment, and radionuclide fate and transport earned her the doctoral achievement award for her contributions.

Vermont Business Magazine Late Wednesday evening, the City of Burlington received results from its Wastewater Monitoring Program that detected mutation signatures associated with the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa in late November. The presence of the Omicron-related mutations was very limited. Though the finding is not definitive until it has been confirmed through genomic sequencing of a laboratory-confirmed positive PCR test result, these results indicate that the Omicron variant may be present in Burlington at a low level. The Omicron variant has been confirmed in 39 states according to the CDC, including in all of Vermont’s neighboring states and Quebec, but has not yet been identified in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine PC Construction received two awards last week at the annual meeting of the Associated General Contractors of Vermont (AGC/VT). The company earned a Best Builders Award in the Heavy Industrial Renovation category for its work on the Green Mountain Power Dam in Middlesex. The $2.1 million Middlesex Dam project, which completed in November 2020, included the installation of new vertical rock anchors along the crest of the dam, concrete resurfacing along the crest, and rock stabilization in the spillway. The work required careful planning and extensive safety precautions to transform the dam’s crest into a functional, accessible and safe construction site for both employees and heavy equipment.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced his appointment of Thom Walsh, PhD, MS, MSPT to the Green Mountain Care Board (GMBC). Dr Walsh is a professor of health policy who holds academic appointments at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Boise State University’s College of Health Science. He is also a physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist who has practiced across the country, including at Dartmouth Hitchcock in New Hampshire.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University President Mark Anarumo announced that Danielle Pelczarski, deputy commandant of the California State University Maritime Academy in Vallejo, California, has been named senior vice president and chief of staff, effective March 2022. Pelczarski replaces Dave Whaley, who assisted in creating the position over 18 months ago while serving simultaneously as secretary to the Board of Trustees and senior philanthropic advisor to the development office, full time positions he will retain upon Pelczarski’s arrival.